Southern Empire Expands the Oro Cruz Gold Project, California Southern Empire Resources Corp. (Southern Empire; TSX-V: SMP; Frankfurt: 5RE) announces that it has added to its Oro Cruz Gold Project by acquiring 116 hectares (ha; 287acres) of mineral dispositions, including
SOUTHERN EMPIRE RESOURCES CORP.
TSX-V: SMP
Frankfurt: 5RE
NEWS RELEASE
September 14, 2020
Southern Empire Expands the Oro Cruz Gold Project, California
Southern Empire Resources Corp. (Southern Empire; TSX-V: SMP; Frankfurt: 5RE) announces that it has added
to its Oro Cruz Gold Project by acquiring 116 hectares (ha; 287acres) of mineral dispositions, including
privately-owned patented mining claims covering the former gold producing American Girl Mine.
Highlights of the American Girl Mine Property Transaction
The acquired American Girl Mine Property:
• comprises 100% ownership of 7 privately-owned, patented lode mining claims and 10 BLM
administered claims
• covers 116 ha including the formerly-producing American Girl gold mine operations that
produced more than 500,000 oz gold from four underground and four open pit deposits
• has significant exploration potential for underground high-grade, oxide gold mineralization
• is subject to no royalty interests
• covers mine waste dumps which may, at current gold prices, present an opportunity to develop
a resource in a manner similar to the conversion of waste dumps to resources by Equinox Gold
Corp. at their nearby Mesquite Gold Mine
Dave Tupper, Southern Empire’s VP of Exploration stated: “ The acquisition of the histor ical American Girl
mine property not only gives Southern Empire a strategic holding of privately-owned land, but significantly
adds to the exploration potential of the Oro Cruz Gold Project. More than 500,000 ounces of gold have been
produced from historical American Girl mining operations, with the last production occurring in 1996. We
believe that there may be significant gold still along extensions both down dip and along strike from the
American Boy, B -Zone and C -Zone underground deposits that were not were mined at historical gold
prices.”
A full compilation of the available data is underway, which will lead to the development of the initial work
program this fall.
History of the American Girl Mine Property Operations
Placer gold was mined in the vicinity of the American Girl Mine Property, in the Padre y Madre Valley of the
Cargo Muchacho Mountains, by Spanish mission colonists as early as the 1780’s.
The American Girl Mine, discovered in 1892, was and mined intermittently until 1939 . During the 1930's,
an estimated 80,000 oz of gold were produced by underground room and pillar mining methods from the
from an area that is now encompassed by the exhausted American Girl open pit mine.
In the early 1980's , Newmont Exploration Ltd. acquired the rights to claims in the American Girl Canyon
area and began an exploration program that discovered multiple gold-enriched zones that were both open
pit and underground mining targets.
Eastmaque Gold Mines, Ltd. formed the American Girl Mining Corpora tion, purchased the American Girl
property from Newmont in 1986 and began mine development.
Mining activity began with the open pit, oxide heap leach operations of the Padre y Madre west deposit,
about 1.7 km from the American Girl deposit. During 1987 and 1988 the first American Girl underground
deposit was accessed via a decline with the use of a contractor, Morrison Knudsen Corporation.
In 1989, Eastmaque created a joint venture with Morrison Knudsen who became the operating partner in
1990 when commercial underground mining started. The underground development of the American Girl
B-Zone mine began in February of 1990 and reached full production in July of 1991.
Underground production was ultimately achieved from four distinct mineralized bodies: B-Zone, American
Boy, American Girl Southwest Extension and C-Zone. The C-Zone mine was developed from the abandoned
C-Zone open pit starting in 1993.
Morrison Knudsen's gold mining endeavours were vended into a publicly traded company known as MK
Gold Company in 1993. The American Boy deposit was exhausted in early 1995 and B-Zone, Southwest
Extension and the C-Zone production ended in early 1996.
The development of the Oro Cruz mine began in early 1995 with production commencing during the second
half of 1995 and ending in 1996 as gold prices declined.
Terms of the Transaction
Pursuant to a Purchase and Sale Agreement and subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange,
Southern Empire will acquire a 100% interest in the American Girl mine property by paying a total of USD
$330,000 to Mackenzie Corporation, a Nevada entity controlled by Dale Wallster, the CEO and a director of
Southern Empire. As a result, the transaction is subje ct to Multilateral Instrument 61 -101 - Protection of
Minority Holders in Special Transactions . The transaction was reviewed and unanimously approved by
Southern Empire's Board of Directors. The acquisition will be exempt from the formal valuation and minority
approval requirements of Multilateral Instrument 61 -101 - Protection of Minority Holders in Special
Transactions as the fair market value of the transaction and the consideration paid will not exceed 25% of
Southern Empire's market capitalization. The consideration paid to Mackenzie Corporation was equal to its
original acquisition costs of the property.
Work Programs During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Although many BLM, state and county offices are currently closed, their staff have established measures to
provide services remotely. Timing of Southern Empire's exploration programs will be contin gent on
governmental regulations regarding the COVID -19 pandemic and also the availability of exploration -related
personnel, drill contractors, equipment, lodging , et cetera. Southern Empire will adhere to COVID -19
directives regarding safe working practices putting worker, community and national safety first and will
proceed with exploration and development work programs only if potential COVID-19 risks can be effectively
managed.
About Southern Empire Resources Corp.
Southern Empire is focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of gold deposits in North
America.
In the Cargo Muchacho mountains of Imperial County, southeast California, Southern Empire owns the
American Girl Mine Property and holds options to acquire a 100% interest in the 2,160 hectares (5,338 acre)
Oro Cruz Property located approximately 22.5 kilometres (km; 14 miles) southeast of the operating Mesquite
gold mine of Equinox Gold Corp.
With a history that includes extensive drilling and large -scale open pit and underground mining by the
American Girl Mining Joint Venture (53 per cent owned by MK Gol d Co., a subsidiary of Morrison Knudsen
Corporation, and 47 per cent owned by Hecla Mining Co mpany), which was suspended during the gold
market downturn in 1996, the Oro Cruz Gold Project hosts many exploration targets in addition to a high -
grade oxide gold zone that, based on the historical mine operation records, is amenable to conventional heap
leach extractive methods.
Southern Empire is in the process of acquiring MAS Gold Corp. (TSX-V: MAS), a Canadian mineral exploration
company having road-accessible projects located in the La Ronge Gold Belt of Saskatchewan approximately
60 km west of the SSR Mining Inc.’s producing Seabee and Santoy gold mines. Please refer to Southern
Empire’s news releases dated July 13 and August 19, 2020 available on SEDAR. Southern Empire expects this
acquisition to close in the fall of 2020.
MAS Gold’s Greywacke North gold deposit, one of several known stratabound, high-grade gold-bearing zones
on the Greywacke Lake Propert y, has an estimated Indicated Mineral Resource of 255,500 tonnes (t) at a
grade of 9.92 grams gold per tonne (g Au/t), plus an Inferred Mineral Resource of 59,130 t at 7.42 g Au/t, at
a cut-off grade of 5 g Au/t (see MAS Gold’s NI 43-101 Technical Report of June 1, 2016 available on SEDAR).
The North Lake gold deposit, located on the Preview-North property, 33 kilometres southwest of Greywacke
North, has an Inferred Mineral Resource estimated at 417,000 ounces of gold contained in 14,110,000 t
grading 0.92 g Au/t (see MAS Gold’s News Release dated March 25, 2020 and their NI 43-101 Technical Report
dated April 10, 2020 available on SEDAR).
Qualified Person (QP)
The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been prepared, reviewed, verified
and approved by David Tupper, P.Geo. (British Columbia), Southern Empire’s VP Exploration and a Qualified
Person within the context of Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Instrument 43 -101; Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Southern Empire,
Dale Wallster, CEO and Director
For further information on Southern Empire please visit both www.smp.gold and SEDAR or
contact: Lubica Keighery, (778) 889-5476, [email protected] .
Cautionary Notice on Forward-Looking Information
Information set forth in this news release contains forward -looking statements that are based on
assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management’s current estimates,
beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not gu arantees of future performance. Each of Southern
Empire and MAS Gold cautions that all forward -looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual
performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond their respectiv e
control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to each of Southern Empire
and MAS Gold’s limited operating history, ability to complete the proposed Transaction (including obtaining
all necessary shareholder and regul atory approvals), the need to comply with environmental and
governmental regulations, results of exploration programs on their projects and those risks and uncertainties
identified in each of their annual and interim financial statements and management discussion and analysis.
Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates,
beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward -looking information. Except as
required under applicable securities legislation, neither Southern Empire nor MAS Gold undertakes no
obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies
of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.